Ontario skip Rachel Homan celebrates after defeating Manitoba in the gold medal match at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ont., on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. The next move for Homan at the women’s world curling championship is the top of the podium after silver and bronze medals in previous appearances. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Countdown is on for Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton

The countdown is on for the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton as provincial and territorial play downs that will decide 14 of the 16 teams will be underway soon.

Those 14 champions will be joined by Team Canada’s Rachel Homan, the 2017 Scotties champ, as well as the winner of the Wild Card game on Friday, Jan. 26, at the South Okanagan Events Centre between the top two teams on the Canadian Team Ranking System who failed to advance from their playdowns.

Should Homan’s team prevail at the 2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings in Ottawa to earn the right to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, its spot in Penticton would be taken by 2017 Scotties runner-up Michelle Englot of Manitoba.

Team B.C.’s preliminary-round draws for the 2018 Scotties have been assigned: Draws 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. The final preliminary round match-ups will be determined once all of the provinces and territories teams are declared via the provincial and territorial play-downs.

Curling fans now have their pick of which tickets they want to purchase to watch the next Canadian women’s curling champion crowned. All remaining single-draw tickets will go on sale Thursday (Dec. 7) at 10 a.m., giving fans the most flexibility to pick and choose which draws they want to attend from Jan. 27 to Feb. 4 at the SOEC.

These new offers are in addition to other single tickets that start at $19.50. As of Thursday, you can buy single-draw tickets for every round-robin draw as well as playoff games right on through to the gold-medal game.

Friday (Feb. 2) games are priced at $29.50, Saturday (Feb. 3) page playoff games and Sunday’s (Feb. 4) semifinal are $32.50, and the championship final on Sunday is $37.50.

Other options include day packages starting at $49, the opening weekend package for $89, and the championship weekend package at $189. Full event packages are also still available.

All tickets are subject to standard facility and ticket service fees. Tickets are available in person at the SOEC box office, online at curling.ca/tickets or 1-877-763-2849.

After each draw, the party will move over to the World Famous HeartStop Lounge, located at the nearby Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. It will be open to everyone for the duration of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Along with the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the athletes, the HeartStop Lounge will offer live music, dancing, drinks and food, as well as interactive activities for the entire family. For the first time, the HeartStop Lounge will be cashless; tokens won’t be used or accepted.

TSN/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of every draw at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.